


The Grimdark Prince

by UnhelpfulPanda



Series: JohnDave Week [15]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Grimdark, Knighthood, M/M, Minor Character Death, grimdark John Egbert, i tagged the stuffed bunny because i can, the king isnt any actual character because i couldn't decide who he would be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnhelpfulPanda/pseuds/UnhelpfulPanda
Summary: Dave is a reluctant knight in training under a tyrant king who had overthrown the previous king (and possibly killed the 5 year old prince, too). To become an official knight, he must prove his worth by going on a quest. Except the king has given him a quest of futility, to travel to the nearby Land of Wind and Shade and defeat the demon who resides there.But is this quest really as straightforward as it seems? Is the demon all it appears to be? And who the hell left a stuffed bunny in the castle's armory??(a very late johndaveweek 2018 day 6 fic)





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> johndaveweek 2018 day 6: fairytale/legend (idk which one it would be lol)
> 
> its two days late, but I hope y'all enjoy it!

            Dave Strider was six when the current king took over the kingdom of Skaia. He had overthrown the previous king, and no one knew where the former royal family had gone after that. Some whispered he had them locked up in the dungeons. Others theorized that he just killed them all, the five year old prince included.

            Dave still didn’t know what the truth was, but judging by how ruthless the king was, he would not doubt for a second that he would slaughter young children just for having royal lineage.

            Dave’s eldest brother had been a fiercely loyal knight for the former king, so it was no surprise that the king had him executed a few years later, when Dave was ten. He remembered everyone gathering in the middle of town, looking on in horror as they made Bro kneel on an elevated platform, read off some bullshit charges, and announced he would be beheaded.

            Dave remembered watching Bro, head bowed and yet not slouching or groveling. As the executioner raised his axe, Bro lifted his head just enough to make eye contact with Dave, amber irises burning straight through him, and then his other older brother Dirk was slapping a hand over his eyes. He heard the crowd gasp, a few small screams, and then silence. Dave tried to wrestle Dirk’s hand from his face, but Dirk was quickly dragging him away, muttering that it would be okay.

            “I’ll keep you safe,” he muttered, quiet enough that Dave almost didn’t hear him.

* * *

 

            When Dave hit sixteen, Dirk pledged Dave as a knight to the king.

            “My eldest brother was a fool; loyal to a weak, pathetic excuse for a leader. I want you to know that I hold no ill will towards you for executing him, Your Highness. As a token of good will, I offer my baby brother to serve you as a loyal knight. He is a valuable asset to you, not only for his combat skills, but also because of his compliant nature. He will obey you without question,” Dirk had explained, face devoid of emotions.

            Dave watched his brother carefully, trying to discern what his brother was planning. Surely he was not _actually_ planning on forcing Dave into knighthood under this murderous tyrant, was he??

            The king chuckled, turning to Dave. “Well? Will you submit to me, young man? Will you cleanse the tyranny from your family’s reputation?” he inquired. Dirk turned to look Dave in the eyes, bright orange searing into his ruby red. Dave knew to go along with this.

            The blonde boy bowed his head, putting a hand to his heart. “I do swear my sword, my devotion, and my life to you, my king,” he recited, making every effort to keep the disgust out of his voice.

            The king knighted him, and said his training would begin early the next morning. Once home, Dave had blown up on his brother. “What the _fuck_ was that??” Dave shouted.

            “I told you I would keep you safe, Dave! This is the only way I can see that will do so,” Dirk retorted.

           “By shacking me up with the douchebag??” Dave threw his hands up in exasperation. “That makes loads of sense!”

            “Just fucking trust me, Dave. I know what I’m doing,” Dirk sighed, putting up a hand to signal that the conversation was over.

            Dave had doubts, but Dirk had protected him for this long… he just had to grit his teeth and fight his way forward.


	2. A Quest of Futility, Then

            At eighteen, Dave completed his training and was well on his way to becoming a full-fledged knight. The only thing that stood in his way was his Proving Quest. Most knights were given small tasks that proved they were skilled, brave, and loyal enough for knighthood. But the king continually denied Dave access to tasks usually suited for a Proving Quest.

            Dave began to think the king would never give him a quest, until one day, it finally happened. The king announced he had found Dave “the perfect Proving Quest!”

            “To the west of our kingdom is a dangerous stretch of land, called the Land of Wind and Shade. Have you heard of this?” The king asked.

            “Yes, my king. It is forbidden to travel through there, due to a demon that resides there,” Dave replied, keeping his head bowed. He feared that if he ever looked into the king’s eyes, the hatred would be clearly visible and he would be found out.

            The king chuckled. “It is forbidden for all but you, young man. Your Proving Quest will be to travel to the Land of Wind and Shade and defeat the demon that terrorizes us!” he explained.

            His advisor paled beside him. “B-but, my lord, you said that was a quest of futility!” he spluttered.

            “Silence!” the king snapped. Dave finally understood why it took so long to find him a quest.

            He was being sent to his death.

            Dave was ushered off to the armory, where a knight about to embark on his Proving Quest would usually be fitted with armor, a shield, a sword, and a pack of provisions.

            The older knight who waited for him looked grim. “Ah, Strider… we seemed to have, er, _run out_ of all our armor, so we can’t fit you with any,” he grimaced. “We ran out of a lot of things, in fact,” he added.

            “Ran out, or was forbidden from giving to me?” Dave challenged. The older knight gave him a sad look, unstrapping his sheathed sword from his hip.

            “I’m not supposed to give you anything but a small pack and a lantern, but… you’ll need something, kid,” he sighed. Dave took the sword gratefully, strapping it to his side. He picked up his lantern and pack, looking around.

            “Can I take a look and see if there’s a shield lying around?” Dave inquired of the guilty knight. He glanced at the entrance to the armory with a frown.

            “You can look while I keep watch for anyone coming, but I don’t think you’ll find anything,” he answered, going to the doorway and keeping lookout. He glanced back at Dave. “I’m sorry, kid,” he sighed.

            Dave hurried around the armory, looking for any spare equipment that may have been overlooked. He even looked under the tables, but the only thing he found was a child’s dirty stuffed bunny. Why was _this_ here?

            The knight was suddenly alerting him to someone coming, and he hurriedly stuffed the bunny in his pack and rushed out of the armory.

            Well… time to journey to his death, he supposed.


	3. Stuffed Bunny

            It took Dave 3 days to get to the border of the Land of Wind and Shade. The sign telling travelers to turn back was haphazardly placed, as if someone had slapped it down and fuckin’ skedaddled. It also had oil dripping from it ominously.

            “Nasty,” Dave commented.

            Even though it was midday in the rest of the kingdom, the Land of Wind and Shade lived up the latter half of its name. It looked like it was the dead of night, and Dave lit his lantern before he crossed the border into the forbidden lands.

            There were no creatures around, not even the joyful chattering of birds. In fact, there weren’t even menacing crows cawing, or whatever creatures are around in creepy areas like this.

            There was a continuous light breeze, but not enough that Dave would consider immortalizing in the naming of the lands. Maybe it got windier later in the day or something?

            The only thing that was curious but not threatening here were small clusters of glowing blue mushrooms. Dave was kind of tempted to pick one and take a nibble… but Dirk would kick his ass if he found out Dave died because he ate poisonous glowing mushrooms just for kicks, and not because he was killed by the demon he came to confront.

            A demon that he hadn’t seen any indication actually existed.

            “I’m gonna shit myself if there’s no actual demon, and travelers were dying because they got the munchies for glowing mushrooms,” Dave muttered to himself, noticing passively as he spoke that the wind was definitely picking up.

            And then his lantern was blown out.

            Dave cursed, setting the lantern down and reaching into his pack for the matches. Before he could find them, however, he saw a figure hovering a few feet away from him. Dave cursed again.

            The figure had blank eyes that glowed white. It’s hair was messy and black, and its skin was an ashy gray. It dripped oil, like the sign, from its fingertips. Dave wasn’t sure where the oil came from, and he wasn’t about to fuckin’ ask. Also, its feet were definitely not touching the ground.

            “I take it you’re the demon I’ve heard so little about?” Dave asked.

            The demon opened its mouth, but all that came out was garbled nonsense. And oil, spilling from its mouth without the demon even noticing or caring.

            “Well that’s fucking disgusting,” Dave remarked. The demon tried to say something else, eyebrows furrowing, but only oil and more gibberish came out.

            Dave unsheathed his sword, and the demon’s gaze zeroed in on the weapon. It snarled and waved a hand, and a strong gust of wind blew the sword right out of Dave’s hand.

            “Well that’s not good,” Dave stated, right before the demon waved it’s hand again and sent Dave flying in the opposite direction of his sword with another gale. Before he could get to his feet, the demon threw him in another direction, and this time he landed face first. He could only roll over onto his back before the demon was throwing him once more.

            Dave groaned, lying on his side for a moment to catch his breath. He could see the demon, spewing nonsense and oil from its mouth. Between them, the meager contents of Dave’s pack were strewn across the ground.

            Including the stuffed bunny.

            The demon paused as it saw the bunny, all but forgetting Dave’s existence. It trembled as it stared down at the toy, and small little noises began to escape from its mouth instead of oil.

            The demon was _crying_ , Dave realized.

            In fact, oil had begun to leak from the corners of the demon’s eyes and stream down its face as it sobbed. And, now that he really looked at it… it didn’t look like a demon, but a _person_. A human being, albeit one corrupted by dark majyyks.

            Dave struggled to his feet, bruised and aching all over. He cautiously approached, picking the stuffed bunny off the ground. The corrupted being snarled at him, but Dave held out the bunny for them. “Here. This is for you,” he offered, keeping his voice soft in an effort not to startle them.

            The corrupted being snatched the toy from his hands, glaring at him. Then they looked down at it and began to cry harder, hugging the bunny tight to their chest.

            Dave got closer, until he was close enough to touch the corrupted being. What does one do when someone is crying? When someone is sad?

            The only real answer was to hug them, so that’s exactly what Dave did, pulling them in for a gentle, comforting embrace. The being froze at first, shocked by the contact, but then they clutched the back of his shirt tightly and buried their face into his shoulder, shaking violently as they bawled.

            Dave waited until the sobs and the shaking had subsided before he pulled back to look them in their blank eyes. Instead, his ruby red eyes met bright blue ones, though they were watery and a little red from crying.

            Their skin had also turned a healthy brown color, and all traces of oil was gone from their person. As Dave stared in awe, he realized… this young man looked familiar. Though it was a very long time ago, twelve years to be exact, and age had changed them quite a bit, those eyes were not something one forgets in their lifetime.

            The son of the former king, the prince that had gone missing and was thought to be murdered when the current king overthrew them…

            “John Egbert,” he whispered, “The heir to the throne.”

            “I thought everyone would have forgotten me!” John smiled. “We used to play together when we were really little! Do you remember, Dave?” he asked.

            “Of course I do. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you… you know, before,” Dave trailed off, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

            John frowned. “I didn’t recognize much of anything… not until my stuffed bunny, and your hug,” he mumbled, hanging his head. “I couldn’t recognize anything but my terror, my grief… my all-consuming _rage_. The land I fled to… this land is filled with beings, with dark majyyks that can twist and warp a person. Horrifying, terrifying beings…” he whispered, looking around as if the beings might hear him.

            “Let’s get out of here before any ‘horrorterrors’ show up, then,” Dave suggested. “Let’s go home.”

            “Home…” John sighed wistfully. He took Dave’s offered hand and they began their trek back home.


	4. Kiss Me, You Fool!

            The knights Dave had trained with were excited and relieved to see he had returned. A few of the older knights noticed John, and their eyes sparked with recognition, but John winked and put a finger to his lips.

            Dirk, on a rare visit to the castle, was also grateful he had made it back alive. He gave Dave a smile and nod to show he was proud of him, then glanced at John. There wasn’t a hint of surprise on his face, just a satisfied smirk. Dave would ask him what the fuck was up with that later.

            The king was decidedly less than pleased that Dave had made it back alive. “What are you doing here?? You failed to kill the demon, and yet still crawled back to flaunt your cowardice? Your failure??” he shouted.

            “You’re just angry your plan to have me killed was the thing that failed,” Dave sneered. “Besides, you didn’t tell me to kill the demon, you said defeat. Since the demon was actually this guy right here, and he is obviously not a demon… I pretty much succeeded,” he added, gesturing to John.

            “How dare you speak to me like that?!” the king screeched. “Execute him for treason against his king! Execute them both; the older Strider, as well!” he ordered his knights. Most of the knights reluctantly unsheathed their weapons, but before any of them could attack, John spoke up.

            “Speaking of treason against your king! I fail to see how murdering your king and hunting down his son in an attempt to kill off the bloodline _isn’t_ treason,” John stated in a conversational tone.

            “It ain’t treason if the heir to the throne is a scared five year old who goes into hiding and no one else holds you accountable,” Dave added. “Except, of course, my oldest brother… but you had him executed for that very reason, didn’t you?”

            “What are you waiting for?? Don’t just stand there like idiots! Kill them!” the king demanded, but his knights ignored him, listening intently.

            “I don’t think you have any right to be barking orders. The only one fit to give orders around here is me, John Egbert, heir to the throne and the _true_ king!” John announced. The knights cheered excitedly, drowning out the hysterical shrieks of the tyrant as he tried to regain control. “Arrest that treasonous tyrant, by order of the king!” he ordered, and the knights didn’t even need to ponder the order, turning their blades on the tyrant.

            Turns out, being a giant prick that scares most of his kingdom into submitting to him and murders the rest makes you _very_ unpopular with pretty much everyone. The tyrant was dragged off to the dungeons kicking and screaming.

            “That was super awesome,” John giggled once the screeching had faded into silence. Dave chuckled and shook his head. “This is all because of you, Dave. You saved me,” he pointed out.

            “And got the shit beat out of me in the process,” Dave snorted, and then waved his hand dismissively. “It was no big deal, really.”

            “It was a huge deal!” John argued. He tapped a finger to his chin, humming thoughtfully. “You know… someday I’ll need to choose someone to rule by my side,” he mentioned carefully.

            “Yeah, like a smokin’ hot babe,” Dave commented, not really understanding why the young king had brought this topic up.

            “Or a clueless knight,” John added.

            “Or a cluele- what?” Dave began to agree before the meaning of the words caught up to him. “Are…am I…do you…?” he struggled to reply.

            John rolled his eyes, grabbing Dave by the front of his shirt and tugging him closer. “Just kiss me, you clueless idiot!” he huffed impatiently.

            That was one order Dave would gladly obey.

**Author's Note:**

> if its not obvious, Dirk 100% planned for this outcome. idk how, but signing Dave up to be a knight, Dave being assigned that particular Proving Quest, etc... was just according to keikaku (Dirk: Keikaku means plan)
> 
> and since I'm not doing day 7, I am officially finished with johndaveweek 2018!


End file.
